Fahrlingua › Guides

The German driving theory test in English: how it works

Can you take the theory test in English?

Yes. The official theory exam for a German driving licence is offered in German and in several foreign languages, including English, Arabic, Turkish, Russian and Ukrainian. Your driving school registers you for the exam and the language you choose, so tell them early.

How many questions, how many points?

For a first car licence (class B) you answer 30 multiple-choice questions on a computer at TÜV or DEKRA. Each question is worth between 2 and 5 error points. You pass with a maximum of 10 error points – but if you get two 5-point questions wrong you fail, even though that is exactly 10 points.

Some questions have more than one correct answer and you must tick all of them. Others show a picture or a short video of a traffic situation, and a few ask you to type a number.

Studying for the theory test?Practise every question in your language with the German original – free on iPhone.

Get the app

Why studying only in English is risky

Even if you take the exam in English, road signs, your driving lessons and the practical test are in German. Words like Vorfahrt (right of way), Rettungsgasse (emergency corridor) or Probezeit (probation period) come up again and again. Learning each question in your language and in the German original at the same time means you understand the rule and recognise the German term.

A study plan that works

• Do a short session every day instead of long weekend sessions.
• Repeat the questions you got wrong until you get them right twice in a row.
• Take full exam simulations in the last two weeks and aim for well under 10 error points.
• Learn the key German terms: Vorfahrt, Vorfahrt gewähren, Überholen, Rettungsgasse, Probezeit, Promillegrenze.

Practise with Fahrlingua

→ How to pass the German theory test on the first try

Fahrlingua shows every practice question in 22 languages with the German original side by side, has exam simulations with error points, a mistake trainer and a private AI tutor that explains each answer. You can start free on iPhone.

Free guides

• Rechts vor links: the right-before-left rule
• Rettungsgasse: forming an emergency corridor
• Alcohol limit for new drivers in Germany: 0.0 ‰
• How to get a German driving licence as a foreigner
• Speed limits in Germany
• German traffic signs and what they mean
• The Probezeit: rules for new drivers in Germany
• Reißverschlussverfahren: the zipper merge rule
• How to pass the German theory test on the first try
• Roundabout rules in Germany (Kreisverkehr)